O’Neill’s All County Hurling League Division One
Loughgiel 3-18 Cushendall 1-15
Brendan McTaggart reports from Fr Healy Park, Loughgiel
It might not have been the mouth-watering exhibition we have come accustomed to when these two giants of Antrim hurling face each other but they served up another compelling contest. Loughgiel and Cushendall is a contest that in recent times has been a hotly contested rivalry to match anything gone before it and on Thursday evening it was the home side that took the honours.
Nine points separated the sides at the end of the hour thanks largely to the Shamrocks ability to create and take their goal chances. Two from Dan McCloskey and one from man of the match James McNaughton. The Loughgiel half forward finished the match with 1-3 but his overall contribution to the Shamrocks cause was nothing less than 100% commitment, effort and he produced touches of class, producing a moment of brilliance in the opening 30 minutes.
McNaughton’s goal was the highlight of an otherwise dull first half where both sides were reliant on their free takers for scores. Neil McManus landing four points in the opening 30 minutes while Maol Connolly matched the fete for Loughgiel.
Space and chances were at a premium with neither side finding their fluent best and while Cushendall probably edged the opening exchanges, they were left rueing their inability to split the posts. With the sides tied at three points each in the 11th minute, Paddy McGill should have done better when presented with an opportunity to score the games opening goal after reading the break of the sliotar off Ryan Delargy’s hurl but DD Quinn saved his effort.
Loughgiel always managed to keep ahead but a run of five wides in as many minutes hurt the Ruairi’s challenge and although Eoghan Campbell scored their first from play in the 22nd minute to tie the sides at four points each, McNaughton’s goal gave the Shamrocks the momentum and edge. It came five minutes before the end of the half as McNaughton used his pace to get the space required and find the bottom corner of Eoin Gillan’s net from 30 yards out. In a contest full of big hits, energy and work rate, it was McNaughton’s piece of brilliance that lit up the contest and proved to be the difference between the sides at the interval after Connolly and McManus (free) raising white flags before the short whistle.
Man of the match James McNaughton celebrates after scoring Loughgiel’s second goal.
Half time Loughgiel 1-5 Cushendall 0-5
The second half produced more of what these two sides are capable of as the game began to open up. McManus and Connolly were at it again, landing blows from frees with Ryan Delargy and Donal McKinley also getting in on the act. The second Loughgiel goal came just five minutes after the restart and although Dan McCloskey applied the finish, the pass from Donal McKinley was a touch of class. He had a half sniff of the Cushendall goal but passed to his left to the rushing McCloskey who applied the emphatic finish to open a six point lead for the home side.
A brace of points from McNaughton and Connolly (free) followed to put the Shamrocks in full control as they began to find space in the Ruairi’s defence at will with McNaughton, McKinley and Joey Scullion all impressing.
Cushendall fired points from McGill and Eoghan Campbell either side of a point from Shay Casey for the home side and while the second Loughgiel goal seemed to lift Cushendall, they had a mountain to climb. Both sides continued to land telling blows, McGill, Ryan McCambridge and McManus finding the target while McKinley, Connolly (free) and Scullion replied for the Shamrocks to keep their advantage at six points going into the final quarter.
A brace of frees from Connolly, his eighth and ninth points of the match opened the deficit to eight points before the Ruairi’s found the goal they hoped would help them stage a dramatic fight back. A McManus free dropping short and Ed McQuillan taking full advantage of a rare error from DD Quinn in the 55th minute.
Loughgiel’s response was instant with McKinley landing his third point of the half and match before McManus (free) and McNaughton traded scores. Needing goals, Cushendall piled on the pressure and were unlucky not to force at least a save from the five men on the line when McManus’ free was dipping from fully 40 yards but his effort fizzed over the bar to leave five between the sides going into injury time.
The third Loughgiel goal proved to be the icing on the cake for the home side and it owed much to the perseverance of Dan McCloskey. Getting on the end of a lose pass from McNaughton, McCloskey held off the challenges before scoring a goal out of nothing in injury time taking his tally to 2-1. McNaughton, fittingly so, had the final say of the contest when he landed his third point of the match to give the Shamrocks a comfortable and deserving win.
Loughgiel: DD Quinn; Paul Gillan, Tony McCloskey, Ronan McCloskey; Tiernan Coyle, Damon McMullan, Odhran McFadden; Mark McFadden, Declan Gillan; Joey Scullion, James McNaughton, Donal McKinley; Dan McCloskey, Maol Connolly, Shay Casey
Cushendall: Eoin Gillan; Sean Delargy, Arron Graffin, Joe McCurry; Ryan McCambridge, Paddy Burke, Francis McCurry; Eoghan Campbell, Emmett Laverty; Neil McManus, Fergus McCambridge, Cormac McClafferty; Ryan Delargy, Paddy McGill, Ed McQuillan
Scorers for Loughgiel: Maol Connolly 0-9 (8 f’s); Dan McCloskey 2-1; James McNaughton 1-3; Donal McKinley 0-3; Shay Casey 0-1; Joey Scullion 0-1
Scorers for Cushendall: Neil McManus 0-9 (9 f’s); Ed McQuillan 1-0; Paddy McGill 0-2; Eoghan Campbell 0-2; Ryan McCambridge 0-1; Ryan Delargy 0-1
Referee: Colum Cunning (Dunloy)
Pics by John McIlwaine